TAUNTON — The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has announced the passage of another deadline tied to their proposed casino venture in Taunton.

Local casino opponents, however, insist the latest development is meaningless.

"There are so many little carts to pull and no horse to pull them," said Michelle Littlefield of East Taunton. "None of this means crap until they have land in trust. The environmental impact statement doesn't mean a hill of beans if they don't have land in trust."

The tribe announced Tuesday that the conclusion of the public comment period on their land into trust request has passed, and the "final phase of the environmental review process is now underway."

The land into trust request includes territory in Mashpee and the proposed Project First Light destination resort casino in Taunton.

"We appreciate all the feedback from residents in Southeastern Massachusetts during the public comment period on our Project First Light environmental impact reports," Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell said. "With the comment period for federal and state reviews now over, we are pleased to start the final phase of the environmental impact review process."

The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and the tribe are now examining the wealth of public comment they received, and plan to prepare a series of final environmental impact reports.

Cromwell said the reports will "be available for public review and comment soon."

The tribe acknowledges, despite some strong local support, including overwhelming passage of a citywide referendum approving the casino proposal, there have been many concerns voiced by city residents, especially in East Taunton.

Littlefield and her husband, David, are two of the founders Preserve Taunton's Future, a casino opposition group.

"The bottom line is, they can go through all these steps, the compacts, the trivial meaningless steps, but without land in trust, it means nothing," Michelle Littlefield said Tuesday. "Finish your land-in-trust application, then talk to me about traffic and all this other stuff."

On Tuesday, the Tribe said they will be "focusing on some of the specific concerns expressed by local residents during the comment period."

The long list of concerns includes the current traffic congestion in and around the Route 24 and 140 interchange.

"The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has already targeted the interchange as a priority and unveiled its own proposals to improve the interchange over a year ago," according to the Mashpee Wampanoag press release. "The Tribe and the BIA outlined their own recommendations in the Draft Environmental Impact Report and Draft Environmental Impact Statement published last year, and are looking forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders to complete the review process."

Under federal law, an eligible American Indian tribe can only open a casino on sovereign land. The Mashpee hope to obtain sovereign territory through their federal land-in-trust application. Many have publicly questioned whether the Mashpee meet the requirements to have land taken into trust, while the tribe has insisted it is on track.